As a motor vehicle collides with a pedestrian, a bicycle, or a motorcycle during the running of the motor vehicle, the pedestrian, a rider of the bicycle, or a rider of the motorcycle, may be hit at his/her lower body with a front body of the motor vehicle so as to bound onto a hood covering the top of the vehicle front body and may secondly collides with a high rigid portion such as a lower portion of the windshield, a rear portion of the front hood, or a pillar.
Japanese Unexamined Utility Model Publication No. H06-74533 discloses an exterior airbag device as a pedestrian protective airbag system of which an airbag is deployed from a rear portion of a hood along an outer surface of the windshield, thereby preventing a pedestrian from directly colliding with a windshield of a motor vehicle. Hereinafter, referring to FIGS. 21(a)–21(c), the exterior airbag device of this publication will be described.
FIG. 21(a) is a perspective view of a front body of the motor vehicle equipped with the exterior airbag device, FIG. 21(b), 21(c) are sectional views taken along the line B—B of FIG. 21(a). It should be noted that FIG. 21(b) shows a normal state (without a collision between the motor vehicle and a pedestrian) of the exterior airbag device, and FIG. 21(c) shows a state with a deployed airbag of the exterior airbag device.
The exterior airbag device 100 comprises: an airbag 102, a gas generator (inflator) 104 for inflating the airbag 102. The gas generator 104 is disposed in a cowl top 108, having a container shape, located beneath a windshield (front windscreen glass) 106 of the motor vehicle. The airbag 102 is normally folded and accommodated in the cowl top 108. The cowl top 108 is adjacent to the rear end, as seen in the longitudinal direction of the vehicle body, of a hood (front hood) 110 covering the top of the vehicle front body.
The cowl top 108 comprises: a cowl top outer panel 112 exposed on the top of the vehicle front body, a cowl top inner panel 114 composing the bottom of the cowl top 108. The cowl top outer panel 112 is provided with an opening for allowing the airbag 102 to be deployed over the top of the vehicle front body. The opening is positioned above the airbag 102 accommodated in the cowl top 108. In the normal state, a lid 116 is attached to close the opening.
The front end of the motor vehicle such as a front bumper 118 is provided with a contact/impact detection sensor 120 for sensing a collision between the motor vehicle during running and a pedestrian, a bicycle, or a motorcycle. In the exterior airbag device 100 is structured so that, as the contact/impact detection sensor 120 detects the collision, the gas generator 104 is triggered to generate gas into the airbag 102, thereby inflating the airbag 102.
As the motor vehicle equipped with the exterior airbag device 100 collides with a pedestrian, a bicycle, or a motorcycle, the contact/impact detection sensor 120 detects the collision, gas is introduced from the gas generator 104 to the inside of the airbag 102, thereby inflating the airbag 102. Then, the airbag 102 pushes to open the lid 116 attached to the opening of the cowl top 108 to expand over the top of the vehicle front body and is deployed from the rear portion of the hood 110 along the outer surface of the windshield 106 as shown in FIG. 21(c).
Therefore, even if the pedestrian, who is hit onto the hood 110 as a result of the collision with the motor vehicle, is about to plunge into the windshield 106, the airbag 102 receives the pedestrian and thus prevents the pedestrian from directly colliding with a high rigid portion such as a lower portion of the windshield 106, a rear portion of the hood 110, or the pillar.
In the exterior airbag device 100, the airbag 102 may be caught by a rear edge of the hood or windshield wipers and thus damaged when the airbag 102 is deployed to expand over an area including the rear portion of the hood 110 and the outer surface of the windshield 106.